The Dow Jones today faces a struggle with the possibility of another COVID-19 shutdown across Europe. On the bright side, shares of Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) saw an increase of 2% as the Nasdaq started to bounce back from last week's losses.
Much is still in question about the future as we wait for today's Fed statement. More on these stories below.
Here are the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Index
Previous Close
Point Change
Percentage Change
Dow Jones
27,147.70
-337.01
-1.22%
S&P 500
3,281.06
-4.51
-0.13%
Nasdaq
10,778.80
+168.66
+1.58%
Here are the most important market events and stories that I'm following right now.
The Top Stock Market Stories for Tuesday
The U.S. Federal Reserve is back in focus. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak before Congress today on the state of the economic recovery. According to prepared remarks, Powell said that the central bank will continue to deliver aid for "as long as it takes." However, he will note that the path toward a full recovery remains highly uncertain. The Fed has cut short-term interest rates to zero and launched 13 lending and liquidity programs to help support the U.S. economy. This week, Jerome Powell will speak three times, including two times before Congress, on the state of the economy.
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Global coronavirus cases continue to swell as investors worry about the state of Europe. This morning, Johns Hopkins University reported that the total number of U.S. deaths surpassed 200,000. However, today the focus is on the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that the nation should lock down a second time. European markets are expecting that the COVID-19 cases could surpass 50,000 per day as soon as mid-October. This comes at a time that investors are worried about the state of European economy as well.
Meanwhile, oil prices are flat once again as concerns about the latest storms subsided. However, a stronger dollar continues to weigh on prices. WTI crude was flat at $39.35 per share, while Brent crude sits at $41.50.
Stocks to Watch Today: SNCR, TSLA, AZO
Shares of Synchronoss Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR) are up slightly after the company experienced a drop Monday following the departure of its CEO Greg Lurie. The CEO resigned after the board examined allegations of misconduct that violated the company's guidelines. Reports indicate that this wasn't related to the firm's performance. The firm has promoted Chief Commercial Officer Jeff Miller as interim CEO as the firm searches for a new leader.
Shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) are in focus as the company kicks off Battery Day. Today, CEO Elon Musk is set to announce "the end of the combustible engine" as automakers must shift from horsepower to kilowatts to comply with stricter environmental regulations. The company is expected to offer updates on a number of improvements to its batteries' capacity and production costs for battery cells, which have been impediments to the broader adoption of electric vehicles across the market.
Shares of AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) moved higher after the company topped earnings expectations. The company reported earnings per share of $30.93, easily besting expectations of $25.01 for the fiscal fourth quarter. The firm also beat revenue expectations thanks to a 21.8% jump.
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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.